Diamantidis lifts Panathinaikos, evens series

Dimitris Diamantidis and Stephane Lasme came through with the game on the line to lift Panathinaikos to a series-tying 65-66 victory over Barcelona Regal on Thursday night at Palau Blaugrana. Former MVP Diamantidis nailed a go-ahead three-pointer with 8.4 seconds remaining and Lasme rejected scoring king Juan Carlos Navarro’s runner in the final seconds as the Greens squared the best-of-five series at 1-1. Action resumes in the Greek capital next week. James Gist paced Panathinaikos with 14 points and 7 rebounds, Michael Bramos followed with 13 points, Diamantidis scored 10 and Lasme tallied 9 points, 7 boards and three blocks as the Greens snapped Barcelona’s 12-game winning streak. Navarro led the hosts with 20 points and teenage sensation Alex Abrines netted 10. The game went back and forth early. The visitors led 11-16 after 10 minutes and increased that lead to 8 early in the second quarter. Barca took charge in the second quarter, Marcelinho Huertas put the hosts ahead and the score settled at 32-27 at halftime. A Victor Sada triple took the lead to 40-27 early in the third. Panathinaikos rallied back to tie it before the end of the third quarter and set up an exciting fourth.

First quarter: Navarro starts strong, but Greens edge ahead

The man who hit the winning shot in Game 1, Navarro opened up Game 2 with the first two baskets for Barcelona. At the other end, Panathinaikos attacked inside with two baskets from Sofoklis Schortsanitis, plus a triple from Jonas Maciulis. Barcelona introduced man mountain Nate Jawai after three minutes of play, looking to find the most favorable matchup against Schortsanitis. Panathinaikos established a 5-10 lead soon after, until Victor Sada and Joe Ingles sank consecutive three-pointers for the home team that swung Barcelona to an 11-10 advantage. Stephane Lasme tipped in a shot that snapped a scoreless run that had lasted almost three minutes, putting Panathinaikos back in front. Barcelona then gave Navarro his first rest, sitting him out for the final minute of the quarter. Roko Ukic’s running jumper in the paint pushed Panathinaikos 11-14 in front. Then Ante Tomic fouled Diamantidis, who converted his free throws to close the quarter 11-16 in Panathinaikos’s favor.

Second quarter: Marcelinho’s show puts Barcelona back in front

A triple from Gist extended that lead to 8 points as the second quarter began, although Barcelona remained undaunted. Abrines began a charge with his three-point shot, followed by Erazem Lorbek scoring a layup and drawing the foul off a fast break. With the gap reduced to 2 when Lorbek hit the resulting free throw, the game was back on for Barcelona. On the other side of a Lasme basket, Abrines threw down an alley-oop from Huertas that again ignited the crowd. Huertas redeemed himself for a subsequent turnover by hitting a three-pointer from the corner – taking the score to 22-23. His initial attempts to get Barcelona in front were thwarted by big blocks by Gist and Bramos, but the Brazilian recovered with a defensive rebound and a layup which finally got Barcelona back ahead, 26-25. The home team reintroduced Navarro to the fray for the final minutes in the first half. Fittingly, Navarro had the last word in the first half as he sank a fade-away shot on the buzzer for a 32-27 Barcelona lead at the break.

Third quarter: Greens battle back to even the score

Navarro also had the first word into the third quarter, sinking an off-balance shot from beyond the arc and an assist for Jawai, which put Barcelona further into the driving seat. Hustling defense meant that it forced three consecutive turnovers from Schortsanitis and Diamantidis, building a 10-point lead from the resulting fast breaks. Sada then sent in an audacious three-pointer from the corner, answered quickly by Roko Ukic with his first perimeter basket of the night. However, there was more to come from Navarro, who went outside yet again for a sensational pump fake & triple combination. Panathinaikos had brought it back to a 6-point game, but would have to find a way to stop the Barcelona guard from inflicting further damage if it was to draw level. Barcelona had other options, as a sensational series of passes to find C.J. Wallace under the basket demonstrated, but Navarro was running the show for the home side. Despite all this, Panathinaikos crept back into the game and leveled things up, 45-45, with Ukic’s second three-pointer. Abrines hit a nothing-but-net shot from beyond the arc, made a steal and converted 2 free throws quickly afterwards, reestablishing a 5-point lead for the host that was reduced to 2 before the buzzer.

Fourth quarter: Navarro, Diamantidis duel to the final buzzer

With Ante Tomic and Lorbek back on court to start the final period, Barcelona looked to outmuscle its opponent and preserve its lead. Maciulis went outside for Panathinaikos, making it 54-53 and forcing Barcelona coach Xavi Pascual to put Navarro back in. Another shot from beyond the arc from Diamantidis gave Panathinaikos a 4-point lead, as it used momentum to try and snatch the win. Lorbek tied the game, 60-60, with a pair of free throws, setting up a tense final five minutes of action. The tension hit as Navarro came through to score the only two baskets over the next three and a half minutes. However Bramos nailed a triple with 79 seconds to play and Lasme rejected Jawai at the rim to keep the Greens within 1 with a minute to go. A runner by Wallace with 51.3 seconds left was ruled to be after the 24-second shot clock had expired. But after Bramos missed, Navarro provided another clutch play by getting to the rebound, however he only split the free throws that came with 19.6 seconds left, 65-63. Diamantidis took charge for the Greens with a step-back three over Jawai to for a 65-66 lead with 8.4 second to go. Barca gave the ball to Navarro, who had his shot blocked by Lasme. However Lasme landed with the ball out of bounds, leaving the hosts with 1.7 seconds for a final shot. The ball went to Sarunas Jasikevicus, but his three-pointer hit the back of the rim and bounced out, and Panathinaikos raced off the court with the win.

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI

FC Barcelona Regal

"It was a typical playoff game in pace and intensity. We had many chances to win. We had a big advantage at one point, which we didn’t defend well. We let them get some easy baskets that put them back into the game. Then their three-pointer went in off a good attack. We had a plan to stop Diamantidis, but we didn’t get to him in time to stop or foul him and he was left one-on-one for the game-winning shot. It was an extraordinary basket. With 8 seconds remaining, the final possession looked set up for Juan Carlos Navarro and we had a couple of missed free throws, which were the difference between us winning and losing. If they had gone in, then we would have won. The way that the game went, I think we should have won. We have to improve our play in the low post, and there were a couple of possessions in which it was incomprehensible why we lost the ball. "

PEDOULAKIS, ARGYRIS

Panathinaikos Athens

"Today’s game was one with great suspense. The positives were that we played good defense and controlled the pace of the game. These were the two keys to our win tonight. Offensively I believe that we played better on Tuesday than we did tonight. Having lost in the opening game we had more pressure on us today and, as a result, we made many mental mistakes. These mental mistakes led to us wasting many possessions. We believe that we played better in the last game, but also that we can be better in general. We think that Barcelona has greater depth in their roster, more solutions off the bench and more experience. Because of all of these factors, we still believe that Barcelona has more chances of qualifying for the Final Four, even with the series tied at 1-1. If I could describe the game in one word, then it would be 'Passion.'"

Players

JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS

FC Barcelona Regal

"We have to find answers that we didn't find yet. The 1-1 score is pretty logical. Panathinaikos made the most out of its opportunities, not allowing us to play our game. We have to go to Athens and try to win one game. We have five days to prepare Game 3 and we have to worry about our game, as we are not playing well. OAKA will be a tough place to play. When you play on the road in the Euroleague playoffs, any court is difficult, but OAKA is insane. It is a unique atmosphere to play basketball. We have to worry about our game."

NAVARRO, JUAN CARLOS

FC Barcelona Regal

"It is a shame. The series is now tied at 1-1 and we have to recover physically for the games next week. It will be very difficult to win in Athens, we expect a very difficult atmosphere, but we will go there to win. Both games in Barcelona were really close and I am sure it will be the same story in Athens."

MACIULIS, JONAS

Panathinaikos Athens

"We wanted to get at least one game, and this game gave us confidence. We have everything in our hands to use now: Our home court, our fans all that playing at home gives you. Now we will try and do the impossible and get a run of a few wins in a row together against Barcelona. I hope we will succeed. Was it difficult to play here? Actually no. The crowd is loud, but they are not as loud as at our home court. You can check that and see that in Greece things will be much more intense."

SCHORTSANITIS, SOFOKLIS

Panathinaikos Athens

"It was great – a great win. At one point we were down by 13, but we stuck with it and we came up with the win. Everybody gave 110%% and tried really hard. This is just the first step and we need to be more focused now, because right now we need to go back to our home and must defend our home court. Now we have that confidence going on, we’ve got two games at home coming up and we need to keep everything moving in the same direction. We are humble and we will keep working to try and repeat what we did tonight when we go back to Greece."

DIAMANTIDIS, DIMITRIS

Panathinaikos Athens

"We tied the series, but nothing is finished. We play against a very difficult team. We tied; nothing more. They have an experience team. We have to prepare for the next games. We must be ready for the next game. We won the game, but no one player can beat a team. All the players did a good job, so did the coaching staff and now we continue."